Winter in Wine Country

 

Winter in Sonoma County, CA is Green. We get a lot of rain in the Winter!  Forty-two inches in Healdsburg. 
As I write this post it's raining. Which is a good excuse to share the Atmosphere of Winter among the vines.  All this rain means Green hillsides and lawns. It's really quit lovely and stands in stark contrast to the brown countryside in Summer when the vines that provide the Green! 

Winter is actually full of color.  The best known is the Yellow Mustard that grows between the vines. It's grown there for specific reasons.  

The magic happens when Mustard is tilled under before it goes to seed. As a mulch it helps suppress the growth of weeds. It adds micronutrients (like Selenium, Calcium, Manganese) and nitrogen to the soil, improving soil biology. Plus, specific varieties release natural gases (isothiocyanates) when crushed, suppressing soil-borne pests and diseases.
All that from a common plant that grows well here in this damp Winter weather.

This year it's sad to report that many vines where not picked. Their shriveled grapes hang forlornly on the vine. The Wine Industry is adjusting to market trends. You will also see big burn piles of uprooted vines as you drive along the country roads. (Be sure to watch out for flooded roads)!

Wine: A Contact Sport

 

Yes, wine is Beautiful to look at. However, the Real Appeal of Wine is in the mouth, from there down to the stomach. That may sound a bit crude, but without this final step wine is purely academic. 
The French say " En Bouche", we Californians say: "The Palate".  Ultimately, it's what shows up on the palate that gives a wine the attention it seeks to produce. 
So we see that wine gives us the Pleasure that Nature intended in a series of experiences. That's the Contact part of the equation. Using all your senses to discover what the wine is trying to tell us.
The Sport is the Passion to pull apart the process of winemaking and understand all the intricacies that go into the bottle and, you got it, En Bouche!
 Cheers,
The Wine Explorer

The Allure of Wine Country

 

Maybe it was growing up in Northern Minnesota, but grape vines have always meant warm and sunny weather to me. There's something very soothing about seeing the rows of vines in the otherwise barren landscape. 

Here, in Sonoma County California, USA, I can ride my bike for miles along roads bordered on both sides with acres of vines. It's like a huge well attended garden. Peaceful.

As a wine tourist, I get to enjoy the tranquil vineyards purely as an observer. I am not a part of the myriad chores that are required to maintain a healthy vineyard. This puts me in a Romantic mood of shady afternoons sipping wine and conversation on some deck overlooking the vineyard.

The best part of being a wine tourist is that I get to sample the fruits of all that labor at the very location of the vine that produced the wine.  In a very real sense, I get to taste the earth of those vineyards. Keep in mind that wine is all about place. And if you know the source of the grapes, you can build a profile of the "goodies" that the vine has brought up from deep inside the soil.  Every vine produces its own flavors. 

Now when I am tasting that wine, my mind makes the connection between the place and the end result in my mouth. In essence, the wine literally connects me with the earth. There's nothing better for the wine tourist to be able to visually follow the story of the wine they're enjoying at the vineyard.

This is the experience I wish to share with my wine tourist clients on my wine tours.  We will get out in the vines and get our boots on the ground.  The wine will make a lasting impression on your wine journey. Then when, back home, you open a bottle from one of the wineries we will visit, your mind and heart can take you right back there!! Close your eyes, take a sip, and you're in France!!